Quinoa: A Story of Origins, part 2
by Sarah Lecouffe Axtell
Read part 1 here
The imposition of foreign foods in the Andes over centuries of colonization disrupted ways of exchanging and intricate land use systems like waru waru (raised beds). Through the 20th century modern agricultural technology and free market policies pressured global markets to encourage cash cropping of high yield plants. This trend keeps people away from native foods and self-sufficiency, and pushes them towards refined foods and low wage labour. Deliberate suppression of native food cultivation like quinoa continued in the 1950's as US surplus wheat was exported to Bolivia under the pretence of “food aid” (Nat'l Research Council 124). Similarly to the Spanish dominance the United States export of grains forced a dependence on the people that still exists today.
The consequences of cash cropping has resulted in loss of diversity, increase in chemical inputs and the lowering nutritional content in food. In response consumers in the global north have started looking for native crops that taste good and are nutritious. These plant foods that have been framed as food for the poor or Indian food have nonetheless survived with the continued subsistence plots of farmers. The stigma associated with eating traditional foods is beginning to lift. Simultaneously quinoa is being viewed as a crop that has potential to feed the world because it can grow under hugely diverse and often considered marginal conditions.
by Sarah Lecouffe Axtell
Read part 1 here
The imposition of foreign foods in the Andes over centuries of colonization disrupted ways of exchanging and intricate land use systems like waru waru (raised beds). Through the 20th century modern agricultural technology and free market policies pressured global markets to encourage cash cropping of high yield plants. This trend keeps people away from native foods and self-sufficiency, and pushes them towards refined foods and low wage labour. Deliberate suppression of native food cultivation like quinoa continued in the 1950's as US surplus wheat was exported to Bolivia under the pretence of “food aid” (Nat'l Research Council 124). Similarly to the Spanish dominance the United States export of grains forced a dependence on the people that still exists today.
The consequences of cash cropping has resulted in loss of diversity, increase in chemical inputs and the lowering nutritional content in food. In response consumers in the global north have started looking for native crops that taste good and are nutritious. These plant foods that have been framed as food for the poor or Indian food have nonetheless survived with the continued subsistence plots of farmers. The stigma associated with eating traditional foods is beginning to lift. Simultaneously quinoa is being viewed as a crop that has potential to feed the world because it can grow under hugely diverse and often considered marginal conditions.
Research for new varieties and new techniques for growing quinoa is crossing continental boundaries, now being grown in over 70 countries. Statistics reports that between 1992–2010, the cultivated area and total production of quinoa almost doubled and tripled respectively in the main producer countries of Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador (Quinoa 2013). Global demands are increasing so research for high volume commercial production is encouraged. As the process of food colonization continues it is likely that traditionally made products and ways of knowing will not be able to compete. In other words the vast wealth of the Peruvian mountains is unseen in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) tally.
Outside of purely economic terms, is it possible to value quinoa and the people who grow it? The people who encouraged, maintained and protected quinoa for thousands of years merit recognition for their contribution. While it can be difficult to envision a global food system that is not dominated by corporate competition and greed, to respect the work of the Andean people is to support their biocultural diversity and right to food sovereignty. The newfound popularity that quinoa has received presents an opportunity to remember how quinoa's diversity was once and continues to be maintained through collectivism, cooperation and interdependence.
Initially communicated by the transnational peasant movement La Via Campesina in 1996 food sovereignty has come to be defined as the right of local peoples to organize systems of production and consumption to meet local needs, to determine their own agricultural and food policies, and to secure access to land, water, and seed (Wittman et al.). Beginning in 1998 six Quechua groups composed of over 6,000 villagers from six regions of Peru joined together to create a community-based conservation area centred on native potato diversity. When the Spanish began colonizing the Inca Empire in the 16th century, the potato, unlike quinoa was adopted by the colonists then spread across Europe and beyond. Today, groups in the Andes are working to reclaim the potato.
While striving to balance human need and the Pacha Mama (Mother Earth) the community called Parque de la Papa (“Potato Park”) use the Biocultural Territory model to “provide the basis for sustainable livelihood and food sovereignty strategies as well as the protection of indigenous peoples rights to land, resources and knowledge” (Admin.). Locally managing their agrobiodiversity and traditional practices is a way to mitigate fast eroding cultural and biological diversity by promoting sumaq kausay, based on Andean principles balance, reciprocity and equity. This approach is also a way “to defend biocultural heritage against the dominant neoliberal market economy” (Iles et al. 5). Supporting project like this can aid in reclaiming our collective right to clean water, air, land and food. Despite hundreds of years of low reputation, many native crops have survived in the subsistence plots of highland farmers. Although they are unknown in commercial markets, they continue to be consumed by farm families, shared in gatherings and honoured for their taste, beauty and resilience.
For more information about the Potato Park visit: www.parquedelapapa.org
Sources
Administrator, “Potato Park”. 2 May, 2011. Web. 7 March, 2014. andes.org.pe/es/potatopark.
Iles, Alastair and Maywa Montenegro “Building Relational Food Sovereignty Across Scales: An Example from the Peruvian Andes”. Food Sovereignty:A Critical Dialogue International Conference Yale University Sept 14-15, 2013 Web. 7 March 2014.
Mujica S, Angel, et al, eds. Cultivos Andinos Version 1.0 Quinoa Chenopodium quinoa Willd. Santiago: FAO, 2001. Web.
Nickel-Kailing, Gail. “Quinoa: The Passion and The Politics”, GoodFood World, 26 Aug. 2013. Web. 5 Jan. 2014.
National Research Council. Lost Crops of the Incas: Little-Known Plants of the Andes with Promise for Worldwide Cultivation. Washington: National Academy Press, 1989. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.
“Quinoa 2013 International Year”. FAO Statistics. “Distribution and Production” fao.org. Web. 7 Mar. 2014
Wittman, Hannah, ed. Food sovereignty in Canada: creating just and sustainable food systems. Halifax: Fernwood, 2011. Print.
Outside of purely economic terms, is it possible to value quinoa and the people who grow it? The people who encouraged, maintained and protected quinoa for thousands of years merit recognition for their contribution. While it can be difficult to envision a global food system that is not dominated by corporate competition and greed, to respect the work of the Andean people is to support their biocultural diversity and right to food sovereignty. The newfound popularity that quinoa has received presents an opportunity to remember how quinoa's diversity was once and continues to be maintained through collectivism, cooperation and interdependence.
Initially communicated by the transnational peasant movement La Via Campesina in 1996 food sovereignty has come to be defined as the right of local peoples to organize systems of production and consumption to meet local needs, to determine their own agricultural and food policies, and to secure access to land, water, and seed (Wittman et al.). Beginning in 1998 six Quechua groups composed of over 6,000 villagers from six regions of Peru joined together to create a community-based conservation area centred on native potato diversity. When the Spanish began colonizing the Inca Empire in the 16th century, the potato, unlike quinoa was adopted by the colonists then spread across Europe and beyond. Today, groups in the Andes are working to reclaim the potato.
While striving to balance human need and the Pacha Mama (Mother Earth) the community called Parque de la Papa (“Potato Park”) use the Biocultural Territory model to “provide the basis for sustainable livelihood and food sovereignty strategies as well as the protection of indigenous peoples rights to land, resources and knowledge” (Admin.). Locally managing their agrobiodiversity and traditional practices is a way to mitigate fast eroding cultural and biological diversity by promoting sumaq kausay, based on Andean principles balance, reciprocity and equity. This approach is also a way “to defend biocultural heritage against the dominant neoliberal market economy” (Iles et al. 5). Supporting project like this can aid in reclaiming our collective right to clean water, air, land and food. Despite hundreds of years of low reputation, many native crops have survived in the subsistence plots of highland farmers. Although they are unknown in commercial markets, they continue to be consumed by farm families, shared in gatherings and honoured for their taste, beauty and resilience.
For more information about the Potato Park visit: www.parquedelapapa.org
Sources
Administrator, “Potato Park”. 2 May, 2011. Web. 7 March, 2014. andes.org.pe/es/potatopark.
Iles, Alastair and Maywa Montenegro “Building Relational Food Sovereignty Across Scales: An Example from the Peruvian Andes”. Food Sovereignty:A Critical Dialogue International Conference Yale University Sept 14-15, 2013 Web. 7 March 2014.
Mujica S, Angel, et al, eds. Cultivos Andinos Version 1.0 Quinoa Chenopodium quinoa Willd. Santiago: FAO, 2001. Web.
Nickel-Kailing, Gail. “Quinoa: The Passion and The Politics”, GoodFood World, 26 Aug. 2013. Web. 5 Jan. 2014.
National Research Council. Lost Crops of the Incas: Little-Known Plants of the Andes with Promise for Worldwide Cultivation. Washington: National Academy Press, 1989. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.
“Quinoa 2013 International Year”. FAO Statistics. “Distribution and Production” fao.org. Web. 7 Mar. 2014
Wittman, Hannah, ed. Food sovereignty in Canada: creating just and sustainable food systems. Halifax: Fernwood, 2011. Print.